Those who are content, needing nothing,
and seek solitude in meditation will find peace.
Those who have trodden all selfish desires underfoot
will find freedom.
Those who have rid themselves of envy will find friendship.
Those who have patience, even for a little while,
will find themselves prepared for Eternity.
God has said: “When my servant becomes altogether occupied with me, repeating my Name, then I make his happiness consist in remembrance of me. And when I have made his happiness consist in the remembrance of me, he desires me and I desire him. And when he desires me and I desire him, I raise the veils between me and him and reveal myself before his eyes.”
Hasan al-Basri (642-728) was an Arab mystic revered for helping to lay the foundations of Islamic mysticism in the generation following the Prophet. This passage is published in Easwaran’s spiritual anthology, “Timeless Wisdom.” The audio recording is by Eknath Easwaran’s wife, Christine Easwaran.